Year 4 at Hooke Court 2022

Wednesday 16th March

Well the day started with a sad roll call of all our friends unable to join us due to COVID and they are in our prayers tonight as we prepare for the evening meal and activities.

Wi-fi is not great in this corner of the world but hopefully we will be able to update this page again later this evening and then again tomorrow and maybe even before we leave on Friday with pictures and a little description of what we have been up to.

The children were fabulous on the coach, Mr Jones and Mr Lewin can’t remember a calmer journey – we certainly didn’t miss the change at Kings Cross and the scramble at York station to get all the bags off the train before it left for Edinburgh!

The only slight dampener was the very damp weather but that aside we have had a great afternoon, There are lots of pictures below from today’s fun, building Viking longboats that were sent sailing across the moat – great fun! I will obviously try to ensure everyone gets in a picture but please don’t worry if you can’t see your child… I promise you they are here and I promise you they are having lots of fun!

As soon as we arrived we had lunch (we did stop on the way for a snack and comfort break) in our dormitory common rooms and then went straight off to learn more about Viking longboats and to make our own. The children worked really well in their teams and then it was time to put the construction to the test. Every single boat sailed independently across the moat, the sails doing the perfect job in the wind and two sailed so far we could hardly see them! Thankfully all were retrieved and will be on display in our Viking Museum!

It was then back to the room =s and the delight of finding out who we were sharing rooms with – Mr Gillan was particularly delighted to have been paired with Mr Lewin – much less snoring than Mr Jones apparently! You will be pleased to know that ALL the children were happy with their roommates and so began the comedy challenge of how to fit a duvet into a duvet cover. Some children are still working on that! (Not sure Mr Gillan has managed his yet either…).

We’ve had our fire drill and now the children are getting sorted ready for dinner in a minute or two…

Dinner was delicious and lots of it – pasta and sauce or lasagne, lots of salad and then a very popular chocolate pudding and custard. Top marks to Peter who maintained his Lenten promise of no chocolate and opted for an apple instead – very impressive!

Off now for some runes and bag making before bed.

Thursday 17th March

The runes and pouch making was great fun – lots of lovely souvenirs coming your way!

The sun is shining this morning and the sky is clear, frost on the ground but it looks beautiful! Meanwhile the children (certainly the boys) slept really well and we are now in shower routine. Best question of the day, do I have to take my pyjamas off when I’m in the shower!

What a busy day!

Breakfast of cereals and juice followed by toast and beans and then jam!

We then had a session of Viking cooking – brilliant and then a  mixture of jewellery making and weaving. We sat around the fire to eat the food we had cooked – delicious – fish potage, breads – savoury and sweet, oat cakes, yum! Then to a picnic lunch and back to finish our jewellery and weaving before more rune making – this time name plaques, and then to the shield battle – what a lot of fun. The children are now playing games, reading and playing with Lego before it is time for their Viking feast tonight followed by Viking tales around the fire. I think they will sleep very well (again for the boys!) tonight.

Well, they really enjoyed the feast and the fire side stories and now they are fast asleep…bliss!

Friday 18th March

Another beautiful morning and everything is very quiet! Not sure how long that will last but I’m enjoying it while it does…

We had a busy but fun morning with sorting out the rooms and then a full set of exciting activities including wattle and daubing and practising our illuminated writing. We enjoyed the opportunity for shopping for Viking themed souvenirs and then enjoyed a good lunch together. After that it was time to wait for the coach and then wait for the coach driver to have his statutory rest before we could start our journey home.

Later home than planned but what a GREAT trip this has been.

Thank you to all the children who behaved so beautifully and to the staff who also behaved beautifully(!) and worked so hard.